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McDonald’s is unwrapping a fan favorite: the snack wrap is back

 If McDonald’s ever doubted it needed to bring back the Snack Wrap, consider this: Nine years after the fast-food powerhouse discontinued the item in the U.S., customers have continued to order it at drive-thrus.

Those customers won’t have to leave empty-handed for long. On Tuesday, McDonald’s announced that a new version of the Snack Wrap will go on sale July 10.

McDonald’s invented the Snack Wrap — a tortilla full of chicken, lettuce, shredded cheese and sauce — almost two decades ago to make it easier to eat its chicken on the go. But it was too complicated for its kitchens to prepare, so the burger giant abandoned the Snack Wrap in the U.S. in 2016.

“There’s so much opportunity in the chicken category,” Erlinger said. Fast-food chicken sales are nearly twice the size of beef and are growing more quickly across the globe, Erlinger said.

Reviving the Snack Wrap was a years-long process, Erlinger said. First, McDonald’s wanted to develop a better fried chicken strip. After several years of testing, the Chicago-based company debuted its peppery McCrispy Strips in early May.

McDonald’s also had to update its Snack Wrap tools, simplify the preparation process and train workers at its 13,500 U.S. restaurants, Erlinger said.

“With this being one of our most highly anticipated menu items, we knew we had one chance to knock it out of the park. It had to be easy for crew to execute,” Erlinger said.

For the U.S. comeback, McDonald’s is offering fewer kinds of Snack Wraps to ensure faster service. It used to have both grilled and fried chicken options, but it’s only offering fried chicken in the U.S. for now. And the relaunched Snack Wraps will only come in two flavors: Ranch or Spicy. The company used to offer additional sauces like honey mustard and sweet chili.

That could disappoint some fans. Force was partial to a Snack Wrap with honey mustard sauce, for example. Davis always got grilled chicken on his Snack Wraps, and he rarely went to McDonald’s after they disappeared.

McDonald’s continues to have a wider range of options in some other markets where Snack Wraps never went away. Canada still offers grilled or fried chicken in its Snack Wraps, for example, as well as chicken, fish and breakfast versions of full-sized wraps. McDonald’s wouldn’t say if it plans to add more Snack Wrap varieties in the U.S.

“We’ll continue listening to our fans when it comes to menu innovations,” the company said.